Week 10 Fantasy Football Matchups

A long time ago a fellow NFL writer told me "Pick against the Patriots at your own peril." The advice has served me well, especially when it comes to Tom Brady. Obviously, telling you to start him in Fantasy is generally a no-brainer, but this week some people are nervous about doing it in his game against the Jets in New York. Some people will chance it with guys like Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow instead of Brady.

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The statistical evidence against Brady is pretty damning. The Jets haven't allowed multiple touchdowns to anyone since Tony Romo in Week 1 (that includes Brady in Week 5). They've yielded 225 or more passing yards twice all year (Romo in Week 1, Brady in Week 5; both topped 300 yards). In four games at MetLife Stadium the Jets are allowing opposing quarterbacks to complete 52 percent of their passes for 209 yards per game and nine interceptions.

Brady himself has had trouble against the Jets in New Jersey since Rex Ryan has taken over. In two games Brady has completed 43 of 83 passes for 464 yards with two touchdowns, three interceptions and a fumble lost. And in Brady's six career games overall against Ryan's Jets, he's had three with two-plus touchdowns and/or 300-plus yards (and another with 299 yards), but four with at least one interception. Most importantly, in those six games he's hit the 20-point mark in standard Fantasy formats twice. He's fallen below 18 Fantasy points three times, including once already this season.

In fact, Brady's become fairly pedestrian (for him), leveling off to where he's averaged exactly 19 points over his last five games, producing fairly consistently but not at the extreme level you might think. Expecting that kind of result, even against a team he's been hit-or-miss with, especially on the road, is not out of the question.

But there's one more intangible, and it's one we've been accustomed to for a decade with the Patriots: They win a lot. And despite the fact that they're in a three-way tie in their division and have lost two straight games, they're still a prepared, functional team that -- at least offensively -- can find ways to move the chains against anyone. Brady is usually a part of that, and a good run game could help him immensely on Sunday night. If the average he'll give you is 19 points and there's room for more based on what we know and what we've seen from the Patriots when they're in big spots like this, it's hard to consider other second-tier quarterbacks. Pick against him at your own peril.

“I’m just excited to get there and try and catch a lot of balls and help this team win,” Shorts III said in an interview with Texans Radio on Tuesday. “To pair up with (WR) D-Hop (DeAndre Hopkins) who had a great season last year and some other guys that played well as well. I’m just happy to get there and get things going.”

After spending his first four seasons with the Jaguars, Shorts is excited about the Texans' offense and the direction the team is headed in going into 2015.

“It feels good,” Shorts III said of joining the Texans. “This organization is definitely a franchise that’s very consistent with winning the last some-odd years. I think it was a great year last year being Bill O’Brien’s first year coming in going 9-7 and right in the playoff hunt and they’re just a franchise going in the right direction.”

The 27-year-old has racked up 176 receptions for 2,343 yards and 12 touchdowns in his career.

(4:35 pm ET)Broncos wide receiver Cody Latimer is ready to take on a bigger role in year two with the team, reports the team's offical website.

"I feel like I’m ready, especially coming in a new offense, everybody gets a clean slate so we’re all starting from Day 1, and it’ll be exciting," he said. "I get to work with Peyton coming up soon, so he’ll be able to get me more into the offense and getting my learning curve, taking it to the next level."

Latimer is preparing to work with Peyton and Eli Manning at their yearly workout session next week.

"It’s my first time there, so it should be fun. I know we’re going to be working, studying, probably watching film and running routes," Latimer said. "It’s a good connection. It’s an early head start, in other words, to something that should be great. So that’s what I’m looking forward to, getting our timing connection and probably learning off of him and maybe learning something of the offense and things like that."

Latimer is cognizant of the fact that the team expects big things from him this upcoming season.

"I know it’s a big opportunity and I’ve got to make that leap for myself and our organization. They expect big things out of me; they drafted me in the second round, they expect me to produce so I feel like I’ve got to own up to that and make it happen.”

(3:34 pm ET)If the Cowboys bring back linebacker Rolando McClain, then it is assumed linebacker Sean Lee will be moved to the weakside, per The Dallas Morning News. Lee missed the 2014 season due to a torn ACL.

“If it says ‘linebacker’ behind the position, I think he’s going to be okay,” Cowboys linebackers coach Matt Eberflus said of Lee. “I think that, like I said, we’ll tie all these guys together and see how they fit. And we’ll find the best position for them…. Sean’s uniqueness in his ability, like a few other guys that we’ve had, he’s able to play all positions. He can really play all positions. That’s what makes him a valuable asset to our defense. He will certainly be good once we get him there and get him going. He’s really super excited and so am I.”

Colts sign WR Vincent Brownby R.J. White | CBSSports.com

(3:33 pm ET)The Colts have signed wide receiver Vincent Brown, the team announced Tuesday.

Brown appeared in seven games with the Raiders last season, catching 12 passes for 118 yards. His best season came in 2013, when he made 12 starts and played all 16 games with the Chargers and racked up 472 yards and one touchdown on 41 receptions.

"Jason is an experienced player who adds more competition to the linebacker position and has also been a special teams ace," coach Ron Rivera said. "I expect him to come in and be a leader. Even though he is new to us, he's got veteran savvy to him."

Trusnik made six starts while playing all 16 games with the Dolphins in 2014, racking up 48 tackles and intercepting one pass.

"First, I want to earn respect from my new teammates and coaches," Trusnik said. "It's a new team and I have to earn that. I want to continue to be the leader that I've been in the past and make plays, whether that be on special teams or on defense."

Smith started all 16 games for the Raiders in 2014 but recorded just 20 tackles and three sacks. He was slated to count $4 million against the cap, and the team will carry no dead cap space after terminating his contract.

(2:18 pm ET)The Chiefs have just $2.8 million of cap space with the NFL draft less than one month away, and while the team needs to find a way to make more room beneath the camp, the Chiefs will not part ways with inside linebacker Derrick Johnson, the Kansas City Star reports.

"Derrick is obviously one of the greatest inside linebackers to ever play for the club and there are some pretty good ones, if you go back in time," team chairman Clark Hunt said. "In terms of the modern era of the Chiefs, it’s hard to think about the club without thinking about Derrick at inside linebacker. He’s a great leader, he’s a tremendous person, represents the club well on and off the field. We’re looking forward to having him back this year, hopefully good as new. You mentioned that his contract is up this year. There will be a point in time where we address that. But it just hasn’t been germane to this point."

Johnson missed last season due to a torn Achilles tendon and has a cap number of $5.2 million this season.